It wasnt too bad but it took a little time to get things lined up appropriately. I want a longer shutter speed so I can take light painting to the next level. Are there any cheap bulb mode cameras?

Cool!

FWIW I dont use that long shutter for lightpainting. Ive never used more than about 8 seconds even though I have the ability to now. Really only need longer if you are lightpainting huge rooms, and even then in my experience so far if you need to light up something big its easier to send someone around with a flash gun tell them where to point it, count 1-2-3 on 2 you press shutter on 3 they fire so only need a 1.5 or 2 sec exposure to make sure you dont miss the flash. Then I stitch the images together after. I think lots people use slave flashes for this sort of thing but I dont have any or money to buy any with so I make do haha.

Youd be surprised how much rotation you get at night in the stars too with not that long of exposure. I think its something like 1deg per minute so for example with my dslr bulb setting i took this shot, exif data tells me it was 314 seconds, remember the farther from the north star that you point it the more rotation streaks youll get:Fiborn at Night 5 by Sunguramy, on Flickr

Self-deleted due to large troll population on the forum, and absence of moderation.

A BIG thank you to everyone! I think i've decided to save up my money for a camera with bulb setting. It seems to be more beneficial and would allow me to save some money in the long run by not purchasing another camera strictly for in cave photography.

There's nothing that makes me more excited than finding a place underground that no one has ever seen or been in!

I think yuo can find it now if you say you r budge is $300-$400. You can get dSLRs for that, or if you want smaller, m4/3 camera. Just two examples below, both around 2 days left bidding and still $50-$60! they will probably get up to $150-$200 but that is still well within range. If you dont like ebay check your local craigslist, deals on there too and then you can see/use before buying.

Sungura wrote:I think yuo can find it now if you say you r budge is $300-$400. You can get dSLRs for that, or if you want smaller, m4/3 camera. Just two examples below, both around 2 days left bidding and still $50-$60! they will probably get up to $150-$200 but that is still well within range. If you dont like ebay check your local craigslist, deals on there too and then you can see/use before buying.

If you look under exposure modes, youll see bulb as one of the options. THats how you know.

Seriously? No way? This is to good to be true!! ; ) Just to make sure, the bulb setting is where one can hold the shutter open for as long as one would like right? If so, can you get a shutter cord for this version? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this one to other cameras?

There's nothing that makes me more excited than finding a place underground that no one has ever seen or been in!

There is a separate bulb mode. And yes, bulb mode is what gives you the really long exposures.

Get a tripod and remote to operate it to reduce camera shake for those types photos. =) It should take a remote, i would quick search that to be sure. I have never persoanlly used an m4/3 camera so I cant speak about them directly but it is the step up from compacts and right below dSLRs. Bonus is smaller of course but basically same abilities but the sensor size is smaller and there are differences in how the imaging works. Google it, basically for more info, its what id have to do.

Well, I went a little cheaper... I found a P1 for 269 dollars with a 14-42mm lens. I also bought another lens that I found on ebay for pretty cheap 70-150mm lens. I figure the 14-42mm lens will satisfy most of my cave picture needs but sometimes I would like a wider field for outside pics. This camera should be amazing compared to my little Kodak! Cant wait to take those pics underground! How do you guys haul your camera and lenses around in caves? Do you have some special case? I'm sure I can make something that would work just fine I would much rather buy a case though.

There's nothing that makes me more excited than finding a place underground that no one has ever seen or been in!

Look at otter boxes and pelican cases. Pelicans have rubber insert liners which is also the waterproof seal. Otter boxes that are larger have foam inserts that you can moldAnd pull out to fit the shape of an object.

Chads93GT wrote:Look at otter boxes and pelican cases. Pelicans have rubber insert liners which is also the waterproof seal. Otter boxes that are larger have foam inserts that you can moldAnd pull out to fit the shape of an object.

I have a few otter's! One for my kodak camera, and two for my Suuntos (which I dont use anymore due to laser tech). I never tried the foam inserts because honestly I didnt think they existed in that respect. Good idea, that will help things from getting beat to hell in crawlways when my pack is being tossed and slid in front of me.

There's nothing that makes me more excited than finding a place underground that no one has ever seen or been in!